iPadOS 16 further closes the gap with macOS to make the iPad a computer like any other

As often in recent years, iPadOS takes over features just announced on new versions of iOS and MacOS. But some of them have far greater consequences for Apple’s tablets. On iPadOS 16, the “Stage Manager” which increases the multitasking capabilities of the iPad gives full meaning to the new version of the OS. Even more than before, the iPad presents itself as a credible alternative to the MacBook.

This Stage Manager, first unveiled for macOS Ventura, breaks a new barrier of the iPad by allowing the simultaneous display of several applications. The user is then free to superimpose them according to his needs in order to work on several tools simultaneously. This multi-windowing feature allows up to eight applications to be run simultaneously on the same screen, whether it is that of the iPad M1 (four applications) or a monitor associated with it (four additional applications) . The goal is obvious: to make the iPad a productivity tool almost as complete as a MacBook. It is also no coincidence that the rest of the demonstration around iPadOS 16, with a few exceptions, only revolved around professional applications.

The summary of WWDC 2022 in video

The iPad will have its Weather application

Apple has made every effort to show the possibilities of working together on the same document from an iPad, from group FaceTime calls to simultaneous editing of a Pages document. Users of Google’s online tools (Drive, Sheets or even Docs) will see nothing new, but for users of the Cupertino company’s products, these are welcome innovations. This is undoubtedly where the main limit of these announcements lies since, what Apple forgets to recall, is that to achieve the certainly promising results of these demos, each user should be equipped with MacBook, iPad and other iPhones and that it remains in the home ecosystem!

Among the other major features of MacOS Ventura that have trickled down to iPad OS16, there is obviously “Passkeys”, which will allow you to gradually get rid of passwords on Safari. Finally, the last proof of the emancipation of iPadOS, undoubtedly lies in the arrival of a Weather application, like any good self-respecting Mac.

Finally, the differences between the Mac and the iPad are increasingly tenuous. If the first retains an advantage from a software point of view, the second offers more flexibility thanks to the Pencil, its stylus or the possibility of being completely dissociated from its keyboard.

iPadOS 16 will be available in preview tonight, before the final version arrives in the fall. To take advantage of it, you will need at least a 5th generation iPad, a fifth generation iPad mini, a 3rd generation iPad air or an iPad Pro, whatever the model.